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Big-city gangs find a future in small towns

THE sergeant from the Union County sheriff’s office was in sombre mood. “The Aztec Thugs have moved into Lake Park,” he said. “We’ve also got the Latin Kings and the 42nd Street gang.”

The sergeant said that one of the gang leaders lived four doors from his home. “He likes to slow down as he drives past my house. Like he’s just toying with me,” he said.

Around the packed conference room in the central police station in Charlotte, North Carolina, almost 50 uniformed officers, federal officials and undercover agents grimaced or shook their heads.

They had just watched a video seized from a home in the quiet dormitory town of Salisbury, where a group of mostly black and Hispanic gang members held a recent weekend party. As the beer flowed and revellers gyrated to thumping rap music, someone produced a gun.